The Rift Between
by diamondscale
Summary: Sorceress has returned to Gotham, but it's not for a friendly visit. Torment has surfaced after nearly two years, and after exhausting all her resources Sorceress turns the Justice League for help. the leads are few and full of complications, the least of which is a young hero that makes her hard heart melt. Can she stop Torment in time? Or will she lose everything she holds dear?
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Hey faithful readers, sorry about the incredibly long delay, I got a new job so my writing time was cut short, but I'm back and with a new installment of Sorceress's adventures, this time with Justice League. We see some familiar faces like Batman and Robin, and maybe even Jack. But Sorceress gets to hang with the big leagues. **

**To recap the first part, Detective Karen Larsing was working a serial murder case, got obsessed, met Batman, got captured, got powers from being captured, teamed up with Batman, then she "died" and decided that she was better off dead and changed her name to Sorceress and went to travel the world in search of Torment the reason she has powers.**

**Got it? Well ready or not . . . **

The street was quiet, almost too quiet for Gotham, a rare occasion with only papers rustlings the pavement as those in the buildings surrounding slept soundly. But the peace didn't last as a flash of brilliant light lit the buildings up like a flash of lightening.

If anyone had peeked out their curtains they would have wondered if they were hallucinating. Or assumed it was just some weird dream, because on what was once a quiet street stood a woman with blindingly white hair, glowing with an inner light, wearing an outfit straight out of a fantasy novel. And as if that wasn't inconspicuous enough a huge albino wolf stood at her side sniffing the asphalt disdainfully, its golden eyes looking at the woman with an intelligence that defied the laws of nature.

"Don't look at me like that Luna" the woman whispered sternly. "we need his help."

The wolf snuffled and padded down the street a ways then hunched and growled down the alley.

"What is it" the woman asked, moving silently and more gracefully than any human had a right to be.

The wolf continued to growl her eyes trained down the alley.

"I see them" The woman's silvereyes narrowed into slits, a look of anger and disdain shadowing her features. Pulling up the hood of her cloak she crouched low and made her way down the alley with the wolf at her side stalking toward the other street.

The woman watched from the shadows the two teenagers, kids really, as they broke the glass of a small pawn shop and unlocked the door. They went in with pillowcases and with her enhanced senses, the young woman could hear them stumbling around and soon the beams of flashlights were flipped on.

"Come on Luna" she said quietly and she crossed the street, keeping to the shadows. Slipping in she watched quietly as the two boys rummaged around on the shelves, trying not to laugh as they swept up diamonds and jewelry and electronics, while leaving the eighty thousand dollar 12th century illustrated text in the glass case and the priceless Ming Dynasty vase.

After a few moments the woman cleared her throat and the boys whirled one pulling a knife the other pulling a small gun out of the front of her pants.

"Now boys" The woman admonished as though she had caught them getting into a cookie jar "why don't you put all that back and put your pillowcases on your pillows and get some shut eye instead of robbing hard working people who have enough to worry about"

"and what are you" the kid sneered "you a cop"

"no" the woman said smirking as if the thought was amusing "but if you don't do as I say you'll be seeing plenty of them"

"she's threatenin' us" the taller one said indignantly

"yes I am" the woman said

"Bitch you got a death wish" the one with the gun said

The woman laughed quietly

"a death wish" she murmured "you should be a comedian kid"

Luna the wolf growled and the kid with the gun pointed it at her and the woman stepped in the path of it.

"Don't be stupid boy" the woman said coldly "shoot her and you'll find that Batman himself is not your worst nightmare."

The boy's face hardened and pointed the gun at her chest.

The shot rang through the night like the death it brought, but the bullet never reached its target as the woman's eyes glowed white and the bullet stopped in mid air between them. as it fell the woman lunged and grabbed the wrist of the boy that shot at her and there was a quiet crack as she broke it, then before he could scream she hit the kid with a well placed rap to the temple and he crumpled.

The other kid's jaw dropped but she soon had him in a choke hold before he could so much as move. As his body stilled she released him and picked up the pillow case and started putting things back. Luna stood guard over the unconscious forms of the misguided youths.

As she placed an emerald necklace into it's case a yelp made her whirl around and she watched as Luna flew toward her. Instead of ducking she absorbed Luna's weight, throwing her back over the counter. Landing on her feet the woman set the wolf down, glaring at the attacker.

"last I checked wolves didn't roam Gotham" a cocky man in red said "and last I checked it wasn't Halloween"

"you should talk" she said "Last I checked the Flash was in Central City."

"maybe this is my new vacation spot"

The woman was about to answer when a dark shadow stepped up behind.

"Sorceress" Batman said and Luna snarled at him as she regained her bearings.

"Luna it's alright" Sorceress said quietly putting a hand on her shoulder. "Bats, as sullen as I remember and just as direct."

"Flash" Batman said "Tell others it was a false alarm."

"Got it" Flash said "and I'll be back for your number" he winked at Sorceress who rolled her eyes.

"Dumbass" she muttered when he was gone.

"the wolf?" Batman asked

"Luna. I found her abandoned in Canada" Sorceress said "had I not kept her around she would look like an ordinary gray wolf. But I'm afraid my little gifts are contagious to little wolf cubs"

Luna nuzzled into Sorceress's stomach, still watching Batman wearily.

"you didn't come very quietly" Batman stated

"I didn't intend to" Sorceress said "I knew you would have scans set up after that alien invasion last year. I just made myself as conspicuous as possible"

With a casual wave of her hand she bound the two young would be robbers in a band of glowing magic that swiftly changed into rope.

"I need your help Bats" Sorceress said quietly "as you know, I've been tracking Torment for the better part of two years"

"you can't find him" Batman said and Sorceress laughed.

"No I found him" she said "but I'm afraid he's up to his old tricks again"

"he's draining magic" batman asked

"Yes" Sorceress said and Luna snarled, though not at Batman and Sorceress received an image from the she-wolf of the dark villain. "But there is not a reason for it; he shouldn't need his reserves replenished for some time yet. It means he's planning something, something that's going to require a lot of power. And he's not alone"

"who is working with him?" Flash asked as he zoomed into view "and who's him"

"Does he know?" Sorceress asked Batman who shook his head "Do any of them?"

Batman said nothing and Sorceress snorted

"Fantastic" she said "shall we go to your place or find somewhere else to talk . . . like an orbiting space station, maybe?"

Batman's eyes narrowed even more and she smiled smugly, even if she knew that he couldn't see it.

It had been two years since Sorceress had shed her former identity of Detective Karen Larsing and had taken up a life of a hero, tracking down the man that had become an obsession for her months before she had taken up her name. Since then Batman had become something of a team player and joined with several of the other power houses, forming the Justice League only a few months after she had left Gotham. The Earth had been invaded by newcomers from space. Something that Sorceress had found incredibly irritating, and at the time had been new to her magic and unable to locate the source of the infestation.

But she was glad she hadn't, because she at the time had still been getting used to the idea of outliving her entire generation and quite possibly the next two after that.

"Know what" Flash asked "you know about the Batcave"

"Duh" Sorceress said and Flash frowned "Now . . . Bats?"

"Take us to my place" Batman said and turned to Flash "I hope you had a light lunch"

Without waiting for him to answer Sorceress reached out and gripped a line of magic and pulled. The roar ripped into Sorceress's eardrums and suddenly they were in the Batcave. Flash stumbled and sat down quickly while Luna looked at the red clad man in disdain.

"Whoa what a ride" Flash muttered

Batman went over to the super computer and hit a button.

"Come back to the Batcave, Clark, Diana, J'onn" Batman said

"Understood" a masculine voice said that Sorceress had only heard at a distance.

"as you wish" a very deep rich voice said

"If I may ask why" a female voice asked

"patrol turned something up" Batman said vaguely

"on our way" the female voice said

"Show and Tell Bruce?" Sorceress asked throwing back her hood and pulling down the cloth that covered the bottom half of her face. "that's not like you"

Batman didn't answer and simply looked at her.

"your eyes are silver now" he said

"Comes with the power" Sorceress said "working with magic as closely as I do it bleaches the color in my eyes and hair. That's why Luna's twice the size of normal wolves, because I raised her and worked spells with her in close proximity"

Batman said nothing as footsteps sounded on the stair case.

"Ah Mistress Larsing, so nice to see you again" Alfred Pennyworth said as he appeared and surveyed the scene before him.

"Alfred" Sorceress said grinning in greeting.

"Okay back up" Flash said "How does she know you, Bats, how does she know Alfred and what in the hell just happened?"

"Magic user, old case, her choice" Batman said shortly as he pushed a slide under his microscope. "Karen, this is a sample of the DNA of one of the victims. I've been keeping tabs on her. Anything unusual that I'm not seeing?"

"You're afraid she'll turn out like me" Sorceress said coming to the microscope and peering in "with my limited knowledge of cellular structure as far as I can tell in that aspect nothing out of the ordinary . . .let me try something"

Sorceress pulled the slide out and laid it in her hand flat. The slide rose until it hovered an inch in front of her face. Her eyes glowed with her power as she probed the sample for magical residue. It took only a few moments.

"Nothing" Sorceress said "he drained her of most of her magic, and with what was left still unused it dissipated. She'll be normal her entire life Bats as will the other one"

"the third victim died a few months ago" Batman said and Sorceress's face became expressionless mask.

"Of cancer" Batman said and Sorceress sighed and a single tear fell, but she did not wipe it away.

"So be it" she said

"Oh hey here come the others" Flash said suddenly as a ghost like green man floated through the wall.

"Batman, why have you brought another here?" he asked as he solidified, landing gracefully on the platform.

"I'll explain later, J'onn, when the others are here" Batman said as he typed a few things into his computer.

There was a few moments silence that was filled with awkwardness until Flash spoke up.

"Anyone see the Sox's game last week" he asked and Sorceress smiled.

Sorceress was about to answer when she felt a presence inside her mind, cautiously inching forward and she slammed every barrier she had down and clamped them tightly pushing out the invading presence. She bare had the time to panic when she saw Martin Manhunter blink in surprise and she glared at him.

"Don't ever read my mind without permission" Sorceress snapped "Ever"

J'onn bowed deeply and looked truly apoplectic

"Forgive me, I had not wished to intrude" the martin said

" you have no right to do so" Sorceress bridled

"No, and I apologize, it is very rare that Batman allows someone into his home" J'onn said "I simply wished to measure the person that held such trust."

"since when does Bruce trust anyone?" Superman said as he flew in.

Batman glared at all of them in his silent brooding way but unless Sorceresses eyes weren't working right his gaze lingered just a little bit longer on Wonder Woman who was eyeing Sorceress with the eye of a warrior.

"Bruce is this what patrol turned up?" Wonder Woman asked.

Sorceress smiled and snapped her fingers, her costume changing into normal clothes and Luna curled up at her feet.

Everyone but Batman and Superman blinked in shock. Superman looked at Batman with a grimace.

"Magic?" he asked and Batman nodded "Figures"

"Oh don't worry Mr. Kent, I won't use it on you" Sorceress said and Clark looked surprised "we've met you know. In Metropolis, you were a reporter on that missing girl story. I cast an illusion to question you and Lane about it."

Clark Kent looked pale and the others looked at each other.

"Cyborg to Cave, where you at Bats?"

"Here, what's going on?" Bruce said as he hit a button on the console.

"after that energy spike I got another reading" Cyborg said "but it's not like before, it bottomed out into the negative side, like something sucked it in"

Sorceress sighed.

"he's hounding me" she muttered "fan-flipping-tastic"

"Torment" Batman muttered

"Hounding you?" Wonder woman asked

"Old arch enemy, vampire like powers, and he can now create these creatures out of his victims" Sorceress muttered as she snapped her fingers and was again in her costume. Pulling up her face cover she closed her eyes "he uses them to harass me, to keep me busy. Which means I was right and he is on the east coast."

"Wait" Batman said but Sorceress had already disappeared.

She appeared in the alley she had arrived in and began her trace.

She could feel the poor woman's twisted form down the street and she heard it snarl. This one was larger, more muscular, bred to hunt to fight and to kill.

"Luna?" Sorceress said and Luna snapped her teeth in assent then turned and went down the alley and around the corner to keep people away from the area.

Sorceress climbed the fire escape and sensed a presence on the rooftop.

"Superman" Sorceress greeted "Wonder Woman."

"You have not given all the answers we require" Wonder Woman said and Sorceress smiled.

"After I take down Big Ugly down the street 'kay?"Sorceress said and she held out her hand and summoned her sword.

It was a Celtic sword, a Scottish dirk, double edged and three feet long and an ornate grip with no guard. it looked ethereal but it was stronger than any steel that had ever been forged. Sorceress jumped over the two heroes and kept going. A couple of screams led Sorceress to the monster that had once been a woman.

It had cornered two hookers, so scantily dressed that they might as well have been naked. It was hunkering, its muzzle dog like but it's body hunched like a bear. It did not lumber but stalked and it was drooling over the two frightened girls, its mouth agape to reveal two rows of shark like teeth. It's eyes blazed a demon red as it bore down on the two girls.

Sorceress put her fingers in her mouth and gave her best taxi cab whistle. It shrieked as its sensitive ears laid back at the sound, and turned toward its source.

"Looking for me?" Sorceress in a cheerful voice, her sword held casually at her side. Looking at the two street whores Sorceress nodded "I would run"

They needed no other prompting and streaked down the street and another alley, heedless of a broken heel and their scraped knees and palms.

"Now ugly" Sorceress said "shall we dance?"

The monster rushed her with surprising speed for its bulk but she dodged easily and twisting in mid air landed a well placed kick to it s jaw, drawing a yowl from the creature. Landing on the side walk she jumped up onto a bench as the monster took a swipe at her.

"he's going to have to do much better you know" Sorceress taunted and the creature screamed in outrage.

Then a red and blue blur slammed the creature into a parked car, smashing it to a pop can.

"Superman don't" Sorceress cried as the creature slumped for a second and he went to use its heat vision on it.

"Why_" but he was cut off as the monster quick as he grabbed him by the throat and with the other claw began attempting to rend his flesh, and at first Superman's invulnerability seemed to hold but then Arianna saw blood be drawn. And Superman winced in surprise and pain. Sorceress flew at the creature and knocked it fifty feet down the street.

"it's made almost entirely of dark magic fool" Sorceress snarled as he stood from where the creature had dropped him "magic is one of your few weaknesses, and you just blindly attacked it, not to mention infused it with some of your power. Ugh, get out of the way" she shouldered past him as the monster now enraged beyond reason or command dug its razor claws into the asphalt, cracking it and gouging long furrows into it and the base beneath as it pawed the ground.

Setting herself into a bracing stance, Sorceress held the sword out toward the creature an answer to its challenge.

It charged like a bull, head down, long strides and heavy breathing and as it neared Sorceress waited . . . and waited.

But her waiting was futile for a battle cry sounded above and the creature was once again hit, though this time by an Amazon.

It flew back into an apartment building and the resulting crash had the whole neighborhood awake.

"Blast you" Sorceress cried "Get back, Wonder Woman"

"I am a warrior, witch" Wonder Woman shot back hotly "I have experience in matters such as these"

"no you do not" Sorceress said but her words went unheeded as the Greek Princess turned and shot after the beast "stop" she shouted but Wonder Woman did not listen and while the monster was still dazed she drew her own sword and thrust it into its chest.

"NO" Sorceress screamed, she had to hurry if she was to save the woman that was still inside. She had to hurry her magic wreathed her and she shot down the street and barreled into Wonder Woman who grunted.

Franticly Sorceress drew more magic outward and touched the beast.

"Don't, please don't die" she muttered as she began the tedious and labor intensive task of healing the beast and by extension the woman still trapped inside.

"Diana stand down" Batman said and Sorceress barely glanced back, as Batman stood in front of the enraged warrior. "Let her work"

"Why" Superman asked "what aren't you telling us."

"The man that created that monster used a human host to do it" Batman said "and Wonder Woman just stabbed it"

"Hera" Wonder Woman said quietly her face paling "do you mean to say"

"If you had taken the fight from her hands as you tried to you would have murdered an innocent girl" Batman said bluntly

Sorceress felt the wound begin to close but she was tiring she needed a boost

"Bats do you have adrenaline shots in that belt of yours" she asked tightly

"Yes" he said and tossed her one. She caught it without even looking and ripping the cover off the needle with her teeth she jabbed it into her thigh.

"What is she . . ." but Sorceress felt her reserves of energy bolster and her magic flared and she healed the rest of the wound.

"Now for the really hard part" she muttered as the monster opened its eyes. It started to get up but she drove her hands into its chest.

Literally her hands sank into its chest as though the monster were made of water; she heard Flash gasp and start forward but again Batman held him back.

And she felt the woman beneath the beast. And she slowly began pulling on her. The dark magic arched up her harms and she could feel it burning her. And there was a moment of stillness as two unbreakable forces pulled at each other.

Then she felt the magic give way and with a scream of pain as the dark magic seeped under her skin she pulled the woman out.

The shell that held it withered and dissipated

Sorceress laid the young woman carefully on the asphalt and then stood and staggered down the alley, falling to her knees as the dark magic ripped at her own and she felt another scream rip from her lips as she expelled it and the slimy smoky physical form it took seeped into the ground below.

And as the blackness closed in on her she saw Luna running toward her a snarl already curling her muzzle.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Hey readers, I'm so excited for Sorceress's next adventure. Did you wonder what Luna's about? I hope so because I will go more in depth into the relationship between Sorceress and her companion and how it all came about and what kind of role she plays as Sorceress's partner. Also I have been asked by readers if there will be lemons . . . .**

**This will probably turn a lot of readers away from the story but no there will not. Implied liaisons and nightly activities will be happening but the actual romance will be subtler, this is after all an adventure of danger, mystery, and heroism, not Fifty Shades of Grey. **

**And I intend to keep it that way thank you, now enjoy and review, I promise they make me better. **

It was the muttering that brought her out of it.

Sorceress's head pounded like a college kid's the morning after the frat party and she felt as though she had been run over by a train. But then as she remembered last night that was not far from the truth.

"I don't know if we should trust her" Superman's voice penetrated her haze of ache and she slowly opened her eyes.

"I wish to reserve judgment" ManHunter's deep voice said quietly "though she has not shared all with us, she has saved an innocent where we would have failed"

"Have you read her mind?" Superman retorted and the Martian maintained a silence "J'onn?" he demanded.

"I have glimpsed, nothing more" Martian Manhunter said uncomfortably "but that proves nothing, Batman has let me into his mind but once and it was when he no reason to think I would do such a thing, when he thought me a mere detective, and since then he has not let me in, and yet we all trust him with everything, our secrets, our lives."

"Bruce is . . . Bruce" Wonder Woman said "and Clark I believe we should hold off on what ever suspicions we have. She . . . Sorceress, saved me from making a grave mistake, of which there would have been no reconcile. She deserves at least that much"

There was a silence

"I think she's alright" Flash suddenly said

"You would" a slightly familiar voice said with amusement "hmm, I wish Captain Marvel wasn't busy in Africa right now, he's the only one I've seen with readings like this. I mean look at her vitals, she's recovered at an incredible rate, almost as fast as you, Superman"

"She's nothing like me, Cyborg" Superman muttered

"Actually no she's not" Cyborg said "she doesn't need sunlight to regenerate, and considering she was barely breathing when I got here I'm saying that she might . . .now this is a might . . .be more powerful than you"

There was a silence and Sorceress was beginning to feel as though she had the strength to move again, but not enough to remark that she could hear them.

"That's unsettling" Wonder Woman said

"Indeed" J'onn murmured

"I don't think so" Superman said with a hint of a smirk.

"Like I said it is a possibility" Cyborg said "Cap's almost as powerful as you, but she has power levels that might surpass him, I'm not sure I need to scan her at full strength. If the wolf will let me that is"

There was a slight growl to Sorceress's left and thanks to her bond with the massive K-9 Sorceress could feel her irritation and her lips twitched.

"Has Batman finished collecting his samples yet?" Cyborg asked

"I'll look" Flash said and there was a great whoosh and after a minute or so it sounded again signaling his return "nope, just glared at me, like usual."

Sorceress's strength was coming back slowly, and stifled the annoyance of not moving, Batman had the equipment here to track that blasted creature's trail, Cyborg the technological knowhow to do it and all she could do was lie here on this bed and recover.

And suddenly she felt it, a sickening presence in her mind like a slug under a leaf.

Hello pet

You son of a bitch her mind screamed at Torment's presence, but she could only clench her fists, she had not the strength for shield's Get out.

You owe me, wench and the presence reached for her magic.

Like hell monster she screamed and the battle of minds had begun.

The Justice League stood on the other side of the glass, looking through the observation window of the infirmary, discussing their newest problem.

"We can't just turn her away Clark" Diana Prince a.k.a. Wonder Woman said earnestly "she came seeking our aid, we must at least give it to her"

"She has magic" Superman muttered

"Since when did you get so bull headed?" Wonder Woman growled fed up with his sulking "is it because she reprimanded you on the field of battle, or that she bested a creature that nearly bested you? For Hera's sake man get over your bruised ego and let it go."

"I don't need this " Superman muttered

"Sit down Clark" Batman's voice though not unexpected by the Man of Steel was none the less surprising in his tone.

"Giving order's Bruce?" Superman asked

"Yes" he said shortly "you don't have a clear head, you are letting your emotions blind you."

"So quit being an idiot" Wonder Woman said "and let us discuss this new hero"

"What do you know about her Bruce"

"She was former Gotham P.D. Detective Karen Larsing" Batman said "we met on a case, during which she was . . ."

But suddenly Jonn's head whipped around and was staring intently at the object of their discussion.

"Something is wrong"

Superman was about to ask when he heard Sorceress's heart beat jump to an alarming speed.

"Her neural activity is increased tenfold" Cyborg said "her heart rate is off the charts, she shouldn't be alive tight now.

As Wonder Woman leapt to action Sorceress's body arched like one possessed and she held that for several moments.

Then she sat up and began screaming.

Sorceress's mental sword was failing, flickering in and out of her concentration as what little strength she had regained faded. She was losing badly.

You denied me a power that would have sated me for eon's bitch he growled and then you hunt me like a dog, well you wanted to catch me here I am. And his mental lance nearly ripped her mind in two. Then he was everywhere yet nowhere, battering at her shredded wits, pummeling her consciousness.

Suddenly her power flooded her and she screamed in defiance as new strength revived her, the mental shields went up and she faced him.

Get. The. Hell. Out. Of. My. Head with each mental shout she batted his consciousness back, until finally he was gone.

She gasped and choked on her own lungs as air rushed into them and she sat up, trying to breathe to remember that she was still alive.

"Karen" Batman's voice said harshly "breathe slowly"

She tried to follow his command but it was more difficult than she thought.

A growl made her look up and her vision filled with Luna's eyes as the great wolf put her paws against her chest and forced her to lay back and pressed her wet nose to her forehead.

Calm settled over her, as Luna's emotions forced into her and she was able to slow her breathing, to relax against the cool floor.

Luna snuffled her hair and with a quick lick got off of Sorceress.

"Thank's girl" Sorceress muttered as she sat back up her voice cracking.

"And she lives" Flash said dramatically

"Are you alright?" Wonder Woman asked anxiously offering a hand.

"I will be" Sorceress muttered taking the hand and lifting herself up. "But Torment won't be once I get my hands on him."

"I sensed a great internal struggle" J'onn said "and a dark presence that I could not touch"

"He wants me dead" Sorceress muttered "damn right it was a struggle, he wants me drained and lifeless, or drained and brain dead so he can . . ." Sorceress realized she was ranting again and quickly cut off the rampage that Torment's atrocities got her into.

"Did you get any new information" Batman asked

"No, Just the vague feeling of him in the east coast, and that he was not alone"

"That's it?" Superman asked "some Detective"

"Former" Sorceress growled "and if you think for one minute that I didn't try to get anything more, I will peel your powers away from you like a banana"

"You're bluffing" Superman said with a smirk. And Sorceress met it like for like.

"Try me, Boy Scout" she said "I'm not afraid to do what needs to be done, whether it's breaking a few bones or threatening a drug lord. In Gotham you can't afford to bluff, or the city will tear you to bits chew on the remains and spit you out. I learned that as a cop and as a vigilante. I won't kill, can't kill, but I hold back." and she stepped up to him and poked him in the chest. "And if you cross me wrong, Man of Steel, you can really see if I'm bluffing or not"

There was a silence as she held his defiant gaze for a moment more then she went out toward the exit, a door in the far wall that slid open with a hiss that sounded like a pneumatic lock. Luan followed snarling at Superman too before trotting to her companion's side.

It took Sorceress a moment to get her bearings. For what she expected was a cave wall and darkness, yet she stood in a brightly lit hallway, a metal wall to her right and a metal floor beneath her calloused feet.

And to her left, was the never ending void that was space.

Of course it was outside of thick plexus glass, but to see that blackness, and so many stars had her heart in her throat and her mind reeling.

I'm in space? Was the first thought to come into her slowly churning mind. But as stepped closer she saw earth rise up like an enormous sphere and more satellites orbiting it. Clouds swirled on the surface like whipped cream on a half stirred milkshake and oceans looked so blue and the land so green .

It was beautiful. Breathtaking.

Overwhelming

"Impressive isn't it" a new voice asked and Luan snarled quickly, just as surprised as Sorceress was, who whipped around and stood in a defensive stance.

A man her age from what she could tell stood leaning against the wall. He had jet black hair and warm brown eyes, set in an angular face. He was handsome except for the three scars across his face. White against his tanned skin, they were his most prominent feature though they did not ruin his face they certainly were distracting.

His costume was black, completely black, from his shoes to his mask to his trench coat, with no detail to speak of, in fact if he had not had a mask and been dressed in all black she would never have noticed him in a crowd.

"Who the hell are you" Sorceress growled and he grinned even more.

"Shadow walkers the name" he said in an annoying sing song voice and suddenly he dissolved into darkness

Sorceress could still feel his presence, his power, but he walked on a plane she could not fully grasp, a plane between the physical and the astral or mystic plane.

"And stealth is my game, sweetheart" he whispered in her ear and she whipped around and punched him in a reflex too fast to follow. He himself had not been expecting it, it seemed, for he made no move to block her and instead blinked at the ceiling from where he had fallen.

"Don't call me sweetheart" Sorceress growled and Luna deliberately placed her front paws on Shadowwalker's chest and with her snout an inch from his face she growled.

"Can't breathe" he grunted

"Good" Sorceress snapped "no one sneaks up on me without getting hurt. You should remember that well with a bruised ribcage to deal with in a few moments"

Shadowwalker grunted as Luna slowly added more weight to her forequarters and Sorceress watched stoically.

"Alright" he groaned "you win now get this thing off me"

Sorceress waited a few more moments then sent a thought out to Luna who pushed off his chest and to add insult to injury smacked him in the side of the head with her tail as she turned back to Sorceress.

Shadowwalker stood up and winced rubbing his chest.

"Goddamn" he muttered "that's going to be sore"

"Should teach you to be a little more respectful" Sorceress smirked "that may work with whatever soft headed female you set your eyes on, but it won't work with me. Now if you will excuse me dumbass I need to find a way off this damn satellite"

She turned and was surprised to find Shadowwalker in front of her.

"What" she growled in frustration

"Let me help you" he said

"How do I know you won't just shove me into a supply closet like petty teenager" Sorceress snapped. Whoever this guy was he threw her off, she couldn't read him, his aura was . . . there but it didn't make her want to look at it, it wasn't bright, it was dimmed down and subtle, and oddly it eased her usually stressed mind when she finally did.

Ever since she had gotten her powers, she was always fighting to block out half of what her senses were telling her to function, if she didn't she would be overwhelmed with the magical energies of her surroundings, with the brilliant auras of every living thing for miles. It was the price having so much power.

"I won't I promise" he said with a grin "I'm not that immature, I swear"

"Your word means nothing" Sorceress said "but since no one else is volunteering I have no choice, but if you make a false move, Luna will sit on you this time"

Shadowwalker smiled and offered an arm which she ignored completely. He shrugged and led the way down the hall to another door.

"The Watchtower isn't too complicated once you get used to it" Shadowwalker started to say/

"I won't" Sorceress interrupted "I'm not staying, I didn't even want to come up here"

"Oh" Shadowwalker said "well how about I tell you anyway, in case, you know, you want to visit sometime or . . ."

"Just shut up" Sorceress said "what I need I can get on my own without idiotic pains in my ass trying to act like they own the place"

"God, you're aggressive" he muttered

"Don't forget it either" Sorceress snapped back.

"Hardly" he said , and he stopped and turned around, putting out a hand blocking her path. Sorceress quelled the urge to punch his lights out. "Alright, what's your problem"

Sorceress glared at him, for a moment wondering how such soft ware eyes could fit into the face of someone so infuriating, but quickly pushed away her musing.

Her problem. . . that was a long list, beginning from this idiot and ending in Torment's new activity. But he didn't need to know that, none of it was his business.

She was about to tell him that and more but he was saved a stinging earful when Batman stepped around the corner.

"Sorceress, we need to talk" he said shortly, but his eyes took in every nuance of her and Shadowwalkers posture and expression.

"Gladly" she said whipping around, making sure her hair hit the upstart in the face and Luan nudged his leg with her soldier as she passed. Sorceress wanted to laugh as he sputtered behind her and quickly followed Batman before he could recover.

"Dumbass" she muttered

"I heard that" Shadowwalker called. And Sorceress to her own surprise laughed.


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Hey readers, so a lot of you have been asking for Sorceress to teach Superman a little humility. **

**Be patient. **

**Also Shadowwalker. He is a character of my own mind, not a DC character, which sucks, because he would be an awesome addition to the comics. But sadly the big shots who write the comics don't read fan fiction. **

**I was also corrected on the definition of the term lemon and I amend my earlier statement. There will be some sweet romantic moments and maybe some not so sweet moments but still romantic all the same in store for Karen.**

**Now that all that has been cleared up on to the story.**

Sorceress watched as Batman ran his analysis programs and tried to sit still as Zatanna examined her.

"Hmm" Zatanna muttered "interesting"

"What" Sorceress snapped, she didn't like this one bit, being examined like a microbe under a scope. But she had no choice, Batman had told her that he would not help her unless she was examined thoroughly.

"In a minute" the raven haired violet eyed woman said

Sorceress sat hunched over, grumpily staring at her hands. First Fate and now Zatanna, who was next? It was like she was some kind of anomaly to these people and she hadn't even done anything.

"What did you find?" Batman asked, still typing.

"A lot" Zatanna said and looked at Sorceress "quite a lot"

"Hmm this conversation sounds familiar" Sorceress said glaring at Batman "but this time you aren't talking over my head, Dark Knight"

Batman narrowed his eyes at her then grunted and nodded to Zatanna

"Are you familiar with the Arthurian legends, Sorceress?" Zatanna asked

"Yes, it's the saga of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table" Sorceress said "what's that got to do with me?"

"Then you know the Lady of the Lake"

"Yeah, but her story is never really clear" Sorceress was straining to remember her college English courses, which had touched in on them. "In one she is a benevolent party, helping Arthur and his kingdom to prosper, and eventually falling in love with one of the knights . . . I forget his name. In another she's a very vindictive spirit and falls in love with the same knight who was in love with some noble woman. I can't remember if the Lady of the lake killed her or if the knight killed her out of jealousy."

"Close" Zatanna smiled "the real story from all that I have read and learned, is the Lady of the Lake was a daughter of what the English called the Elder Folk, one of the many lived in our world and she was taught in the ways of human sorcery by Merlin, and then gave him Excalibur to place in the Sword Stone. She is also the sister of Madame Xanadu and Morgan Le Fey."

"Madame Who now?" Sorceress asked

"Madame Xanadu" Zatanna said "she's a fortune teller in New Orleans. But she used to be an immortal sorceress but after Merlin cursed her, she's had some trouble maintaining her immortality, did a lot of stupid things, but the past oh . . . twenty years she's been atoning for her sins and acting as a supernatural advisor for anyone who asks but that doesn't really matter. The Lady unlike her sisters gave up her immortality to be with one of Arthur's knights, Sir Pelleas she had a son with him and after Arthur died she and three others bore him to Avalon where Oberon returned her immortality."

"Nice history lesson" Sorceress muttered "now again what's this got to do with me"

"You are Vivian Inwudu's direct descendent" Zatanna said "the several great granddaughter of Sir Pelleas. You would have stayed mortal if you hadn't had your own power turned back on you and had not been under a lot of stress. You see you have all of her power and all of a mortal's weaknesses. You can manipulate the magic directly whereas I need spells and rituals."

"All of a mortals weaknesses" Sorceress repeated.

"Yes, you can be cut, stabbed, shot and all of that" Zatanna said "you can't be poisoned, your power would neutralize it, but you can be drugged, knocked out and such. Wounds that have nothing to do with the organs can be healed but a gunshot wound to the heart or stomach, not so much"

"So I can die" Sorceress asked quietly, relieved, Nelson had hinted that she would live a very long time.

"Only if you are hurt badly enough" Zatanna said drawing a symbol on the floor in front of Sorceress "but if you avoid all that . . . I'm actually not sure you can"

Sorceress felt her blood freeze. As a cop, especially in Gotham, you are so aware of your mortality it's like a neon sign flashing at you that you could die at any moment; you have a nagging self preservation that whispers at every shadow, every new face, and every new sound. But in the end you know that you'll all end up in the same place it's only what time you get there.

But for her there wasn't a time, no appointment with the Grim Reaper, no waiting outside pearly gates or burning pits, no unless she was too hurt beyond repair she would not die.

It wasn't natural, it wasn't right and she felt dizzy as she tried to wrap her mind around her confirmed fear.

"I suppose you should also know that this sort of magic that you have can be transmuted" Zatanna went on drawing symbols oblivious to the mental and emotional havoc she was waging on Sorceress.

"What is that supposed to mean" Sorceress kept her voice even. She didn't trust her powers to not flare up. She was in space where the magic patterns were so chaotic that she was having a hard time controlling the magic flowing through her before Zatanna had started examining her.

"Look at your dog" Zatanna said and Luna growled, breaking her otherwise bored façade.

"Wolf" Sorceress said

"Sorry wolf" Zatanna was conjuring five black and white candles and one blue one from thin air "She's so different because you spending so much time with her transmuted a bit of your power into her, and I suspect you now find that you can focus your power better when she's around and that you can if the occasion warrants it, channel your spells through her."

"Yes" Sorceress said watching as she placed a candle on a symbol.

"If you spent that much time with another human I'm pretty sure that the same would happen . . . well not exactly but you would certainly leave an impression on them, resulting anything from a longer lifespan to seeing the magical eddies that you do"

"Hm" Sorceress said noncommittally but inside she was shaking, trying hard not to lose it, not to completely break down and rage at the unfairness. If Zatanna was right, she could never have a normal life, a husband a family, never spend more time than a few days or a few weeks with someone, isolated and alone.

Well not alone, alone, Luna would be there but there were the empty beds the lonely nights, the longing ache she felt when she saw families, couples.

Every time she felt it she had shaken it off, telling herself sternly that it could only happen once Torment was locked away for good. And that had made her feel a little better that dream of maybe having a family, of children, of a loving husband burned in her heart, her secret wish, underneath the hard shell she wrapped herself in.

But with these words, that flame was snuffed and Sorceress felt hollow, empty.

"Now hold still" Zatanna said and she raised her hand, like she was a traffic director, her fingers splayed and, as the symbols blazed a blue color and the candle flames shot up two feet, Zatanna spat out several lines of gibberish that Sorceress had to work through to realize they were a backwards version of "Show thyself, mark of the King of the Land of Avalon, Do you lay claim to this daughter of the Elder Folk."

Sorceress felt her magic swirl in response to the spell but otherwise nothing out of the ordinary happened.

The light faded from the chalked symbols and the candles sputtered out.

"Um" Sorceress said "nothing happened"

"And that's a good thing" Zatanna said though she winced and pulled back her glove. "Avalon magic, always dramatic" on her hand was a burn shaped in the symbol of a Celtic knot. Zatanna reached into her bag but Sorceress quickly grabbed her wrist and healed the burn, before Zatanna could blink.

"What do mean that's a good thing" Sorceress asked

"It means Oberon hasn't marked you" Zatanna said "if he had you eventually have to go to Avalon and stay there for all eternity to do his bidding. But since he hasn't you're a free woman. Although I would refrain from going to Avalon unless you decide you have had enough of this world"

Sorceress said nothing

Batman had been a silent observer but she could almost hear the wheels spinning behind his pointy eared cowl and she turned to him.

"What" she snapped

Batman looked at her a moment and infuriatingly turned back to the computer console and continued whatever he was doing.

Knowing that Batman could probably withstand her infamous glare of death, Sorceress growled and hopped down from the table and stalked out of the room.

_Now all I need is to be stuck up here for the night and this day will officially be a complete disaster_, she thought grinding her teeth.

No sooner had she finished that thought than she was falling, face first with the floor rushing up at her. On instinct she relaxed her muscles and rolled and was on her feet in a single motion and she turned to face whatever tripped her.

"Nice reflexes" Shadowalker stood there grinning like the school boy he seemed to constantly act like.

"Go away" Sorceress growled, she was definitely not in the mood to deal with this

"Come on now, Sorceress" he said appearing right in front of her melting from the shadows. "I know I'm the last person you want to see right now, but I can tell whatever Zatanna said upset you"

"I'm warning you" Sorceress said "if you ever want to have kids in the future you will back off"

"Cut the bitch BS" Shadowalker said "You are a very angry, very upset woman and after all my experience in the Justice League there is one thing I have learned, the only way to get that out of your system so that you can think objectively when it's time to get in the game is a sparring match."

"I don't . . ." Sorceress began but she trailed off. She had been about to say "I don't want to fight" but the truth was she was itching for one, a hand to hand, bone crunching, brutal and merciless fight. She knew that Batman was busy and Superman would just laugh, Wonder Woman might go easy because she and Sorceress had different training.

And right now punching Shadowalker in the face sounded like a really, really good idea. Luna shook her mane her tongue lolling in amusement sending her a distorted image of Shadowalker on his ass and her mind was made up.

She knew she would pay for it later, pushing her feelings of depression off to the side, she knew that tonight when she was alone that they would hit her like a ton of bricks. And Sorceress knew that it wasn't healthy to let yourself waste away in the dark but she didn't care at that moment. Letting out some pent up anger on a smug immature bastard was too good of an opportunity to pass up.

"Fine" Sorceress said "you are on. Let's just hope you can handle it"

The training room was empty, and surprisingly small for a satellite station full of superheroes, but Sorceress hardly cared as she unclipped her cloak and draped it on a bench, it would suit her needs just fine. Shadowwalker did the same with his trench coat and gun harness she hadn't noticed before. He saw her looking at them and he shrugged.

"Rubber bullets" he said "don't kill but they hurt like hell."

Sorceress felt her opinion of the man rise and she tried to push it back into the area of idiot. But . . .

_Oh just stop right there, remember what Zatanna said she_ thought to herself and the anger came flooding back and she clenched her fists until they were white knuckled.

"Alright, simple rules" Shadowalker said "no breaking bones, no chokeholds and my personal favorite no nut shots"

"And you just ruined the fun" Sorceress said as they stepped on the mat

"Cruel, just plain cruel is what you are" he said in mock sadness.

"Get over it" Sorceress said

"Moving right along" he said taking off his combat boots. He glanced at her feet and shrugged "I take one side of the mat and you take the other. Loser buys the winner dinner" he chuckled at his own rhyme and Sorceress glared at him but said nothing.

"Ready" he asked

"Are you?" she retorted and she swung her braid over her shoulder.

Now that Shadowwalker had shed his coat and pushed back his sleeves Sorceress found that more scars like the ones on his face covered his arms and she wondered if his body was riddled with them.

Then she wondered if his body was just as toned as his arms.

_Stop right there_ she thought to herself

But it was hard to not watch as his tight costume conformed to his movements, and she was glad that her cheeks were covered because she knew they were red.

He, to his credit barely batted an eyelash as they circled one another, his warm eyes gaining a sharp intensity that she hadn't been there before.

And she realized that he was testing her, not just her ability to fight but her ability to handle herself when she was emotionally comprised.

Shadowalker struck so fast that she barely saw it coming

Except that she did and instinct that had been trained into her reacted and laid down a counter move.

His sudden high kick missed her face by inches, but by design she realized as she moved. He had wanted to scare her, teach her that she wasn't the hot stuff she thought she was.

_Wanna_ bet? She growled in her mind and executed the counter.

Before the leg and even fully extended she knocked it sideways spinning as he followed with a punch and with her palm, fingers curled in, slammed him in the chest throwing her weight into the move then freezing in an instant of control, watching as Shadowalker flew across the mat. He twisted in midair and landed on one knee. Looking up he grinned and rushed her.

Bad move she thought and stood and just like earlier in Gotham she waited.

She moved neither fast nor slow, but as he approached she jumped up twisted and drove her knee in between his shoulder blades and pinned him to the mat.

She was almost disappointed that it had been so short a match but in an impossible double jointed move he twisted his arm around and knocked her other knee out from under her, rolling as she lost her balance.

Both of them sprang to their feet. Sorceress's anger had burnt out; it hadn't taken much, now it was about seeing who was better.

Shadowalker was grinning, he was enjoying this, he thought it was fun and as he circled her it was apparent that he had never really had a challenge before and he liked it.

She stayed where she was, she needed to go on the defensive, he knew defensive technique that was incredibly different from her own, but she was sure she could take him down if she wore him out on the offensive, given that from his expression of expectancy he was waiting for her to lash out at him to make the first move because that is what he had assumed in his impression of her.

She stood still, following him with her eyes. Finally he got bored and struck.

His punch never made it however fro she blocked it easily, neither did his roundhouse kick nor his elbow to the throat, no move made a hit.

Then he finally tried breaking her ground, and she took the opportunity. As he circled around she jumped into a spin kick and felt it connect with the side of his head.

Landing at the ready she looked down at him

"Getting sloppy" she smirked but it didn't stay there for long as he brought his legs around and entangled her and making her lose her balance and before she could get back up he was on top of her, pinning her to the mat.

They were drenched in sweat, the smell of it was thick in Sorceress's nose but surprisingly unlike most it wasn't a puke inducing smell, at least not yet.

"I see you like being on top" Shadowalker said, his breathing heavier than hers and his black hair was curling against his forehead. "Want to see what it's like on the bottom"

"Find some better one liners, bud" Sorceress growled struggling against him.

"Why would I do that, they seem to work on you" he said

"And what make you say that" Sorceress stopped struggling and tilted her chin up defiantly

"Because you haven't blasted me out to space yet" he said

"You're an idiot" Sorceress growled

"Part of my charm" he murmured.

She realized just how close he was, how awkward a position they were in . . .

And how much she really didn't care.

Zatanna's words were the furthest things from her mind as he leaned closer, so was the fact that she was sure this was all a stupidly elaborate plan to seduce her. She honestly didn't care. She knew she should but she didn't, she just wanted to relax, to let this happen.

But whether for better or worse, J'onn Jones, the resident Martian sounded out over the speaker.

"Sorceress, batman would like to speak with you in the Control Room" his rich voice said and there was a click.

And the moment was over and with a snap of her fingers to get Luna's attention; Luna came over and shouldered Shadowalker off of her.

"You owe me dinner" he said brushing himself off as they stood

"Sorry" Sorceress said turning away from him "but I don't do dinner with imbeciles, try some other chick with half a brain"

And with that Sorceress left Luna at her side as always.

And tried to hide the pain behind her mask


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: As always readers, a pleasure to write for you again. Now there might be some delays in my next few chapters. I'm writing a book and I need to concentrate on writing that, but don't worry I'm not going to leave you guys hanging. There is just going to be some delays in between chapters. **

**Now to the story.**

Sorceress stared at the holomap; red pinpricks littered the map, concentrated in Metropolis, London. Central City, several cities in Cuba, Africa, Italy, Greece, and many more less prominent concentrations in Canada and Australia.

"I've cross-referenced your case files from two years ago to murders that have been happening in the last six months" Batman said, hitting a button on the console and several files opened up, lines connecting them to their corresponding dots. "these are the files"

Sorceress put her hand out and touched it to the holofile and it opened up as the technology interacted with her movements. She looked at the CSU photo's and splaying her fingers to blow up some images.

As she expected, Torment was not discriminate in race, gender, or orientation. However something had changed in his MO, he no longer tortured his victims, at least not with the same pleasure he had before. Broken bones and flayed skin was surgically done, with a precision and ruthlessness of someone looking to get something out of the victim quickly, to not spend more time than necessary on them. no sexual assault, nothing to suggest that Torment was getting anything out of this other than magic.

"He's become more ruthless, more methodical" Sorceress said "as I thought when I came across the first body, but I had hoped at the time that the woman had been something of a pick me up. But as I thought he is getting ready for something, something big"

"Any theories as to what that might be?" Wonder Woman asked, standing next to Batman and giving Sorceress a measured glance.

"World domination?" Sorceress asked with a chuckle. Neither of the heroes laughed "right well, no not really, and I don't think he's the type for world domination, he just wants to inflict pain, torture, and suffering, things that he takes pleasure in. world domination requires well . . . work, that's a lot of people to either kill or suppress, a lot of rebellions to squash not to mention keeping an administration of some sort to help with all of it. no Torment in the grand scheme of things just wants to enjoy himself, not deal with the pressures of overruling an entire world"

"Alright, so what's our next move?"

Sorceress looked at the most recent cases, the ones in Metropolis

"I draw him out" Sorceress said "in the infirmary he contacted me, tried to kill me, because he's afraid that I will stop him, which I will once I figure out where he is and what he's up to"

"a good idea" Wonder Woman said

"He can sense where you are" Batman said "how are you going to get close enough to find out what he's up to"

Sorceress ran her thumb over the scars on her palm, a habit that had popped up after Torment had tortured her when he had tried to drain her powers. The scars reminded her of his unpredictability, of his sadistic nature, to never underestimate him.

"I don't know" Sorceress muttered "if I could just . . . dampen my powers, I could sneak into his base if I can find it."

"exactly" Batman said "I'm assigning Shadowwalker to you, he'll be able to dampen your powers without a problem and he is a natural spy, he'll be the best for this mission"

Sorceress felt her stomach plummet

"I only needed a place to start looking Batman" Sorceress said smoothly "Metropolis is has the most recent cases, I'll start there, Luna might be able to "

"No" Wonder Woman said "one of the most important rules of war, one man is not an army, and an army is not one man. You cannot do this alone Sorceress, in this you need a partner. AS I recall you said that you thought that this Torment was not working alone, therefore can you afford to not do the same?"

Sorceress ground her teeth together, she would have been annoyed if it had been anyone else, but now she was frustrated and angry. Of all the heroes Batman could have picked he picked the one that got her blood boiling both in a good way and a bad way.

Damn him she thought

But she had to do this logically, and if the imbecile could get her close enough to Torment to figure out what he was up to, well she would grin and bear it.

"Fine" Sorceress muttered "tell him to meet me in Metropolis, midnight on Saturday, I need to make a few rounds, meet a few contacts, and see if they have any information."

"Good, go" Batman said

"I would have been gone, problem is I don't know how to get off this damn station" Sorceress growled and Batman's lips twitched.

"J'onn will take you down to the surface" Wonder Woman said

"Good" Sorceress said "Come on Luna"

Sorceress walked out the door and turned down the hallway but then realized she had no idea where to go.

She was about to walk back into the room when she caught Wonder Woman's voice

". . . work too hard, Bruce" she said quietly "relax"

"I have cases to work on Diana" Batman grunted

"Bruce we need to talk about this" Wonder Woman said "things have been . . . tense between us since that night"

'I have work to do" Batman said then he sighed "that night was . . . stupid Diana, it never should have happened, relationships within the office are never a good idea."

"Damn you Bruce" Wonder Woman said angrily "is that all I am to you? A coworker?"

"No" Batman said shortly

"Then what am I to you" Wonder Woman asked and Sorceress decided that now was a good time to find a way off this station.

She signaled Luna and quickly made her way to the next hallway.

So she wasn't the only one having problems with her love life. Batman seemed to be having just as much trouble as she was; only she didn't have an Amazonian to deal with.

She continued to wander the halls of the station trying to find her way to the deep blue of aura that was J'onn, but it was like knowing where the end of the maze was but not how to get from start to finish.

"Damn it" she growled and she became aware of a presence behind her, a turquoise colored aura that was familiar and she tensed.

"Need a hand" Superman said behind her.

"not from you thanks" Sorceress said

"oh I just thought you looked a little lost" Superman said floating around in front of her with a smirk.

"You know you have two feet" Sorceress pointed out sweetly "I'm sure they would appreciate being useful again"

Superman glowered at her but did not come down.

"Do you feel all high and mighty keeping your head above everyone else's?" Sorceress asked "or are you trying to impress me?"

"magic users" Superman muttered and turned and floated away.

"Lovely chat" Sorceress called after him "jerk"

Luna scraped at the floor and whined.

"I know Luna" Sorceress said "I don't like it much up here either.

It took her another half-hour to find J'onn, manning what looked to be a communications station in what looked to be the main hub of the station.

"Ah Sorceress" J'onn said "are you ready to return?"

"yes" Sorceress said "yes I am"

"if you will step onto the pad" J'onn indicated the raised circular platform with a band of lights ringed around it.

She stepped onto it and Luna sat next to her.

"I hope we meet again" J'onn said with a serene smile and he pressed a button.

Light flared for a moment and she felt a tingling in her fingers then the light faded and she stood in an alley in Metropolis.

Snapping her fingers, she was dressed in civilian clothes and she cast an illusion over Luna, so that whoever was looking at her saw a large Great Dane. Conjuring a collar and a leash she fastened them onto Luna and they made their way into the busy streets of one of the largest cities in America.

She needed to get an apartment which meant making an alias and the appropriate documents. And she would also have to visit Jack and Helen.

Since being "dead" Sorceress, the former Karen Larsing had been visiting her old partner and her godchildren every holiday and birthday, and perhaps a few surprise visits here and there. Only this time it would not be a friendly call. She knew she would need a place to stay and she hoped that jack would know somewhere that wouldn't ask questions.

Sorceress stood at a crosswalk and waited for the light to turn when she suddenly felt a very familiar presence, not too far behind. The aura was hard to catch but that was after all the only reason she spotted it in this sea of multicolored auras around her. Luna suppressed a growl as she felt him two and as the light changed they crossed over the street with the crowd and after a few yards turned down an alley way, where Sorceress hid behind a dumpster quickly and hunched down next to Luna.

They didn't have to wait long as their stalker turned down the alley in the next instant and as he passed Sorceress grabbed him by the front of his shirt and pushed him up against the wall.

"what the hell do you think you're doing Shadowwalker" Sorceress hissed and Luna snarled at him.

"you still owe me dinner" he said with an arrogant grin that Sorceress wanted to slap off his face. "Batman said I was assigned to help you"

"I said meet me at midnight" she snarled "not midday, you might have just cost me my operation"

"have not" he argued "Batman briefed me, sort of, said you can sense the guy"

"I can sense everyone" Sorceress growled bitterly and let him go. She couldn't see his scars but she guessed he had them covered with makeup. Without his mask he was quite handsome, heart meltingly so and Sorceress hated it. his eyes as with all previous encounters seemed to look through her and without her mask it made her feel even more vulnerable. "that doesn't explain why you decided to follow me"

"I want to know who I'm working with"

"ever heard of a thing called privacy" Sorceress snarled.

"ever heard of a thing called betrayal" Shadowwalker countered "I've been double crossed more times than I care to admit"

"I didn't even want you on this operation" she said "why would I double cross you? And who the hell do you think you are thinking you could even get away with it"

"oh I should probably introduce myself . . . again" he said with a cocky grin "Justin Carter, at your service"

"you can take your service and shove it up your ass" Sorceress growled and she turned to go.

"touchy" Justin said

"Damn straight" Karen said and started down the alley, taking a shortcut to Jacks apartment.

"wait" Justin said and he was suddenly in front of her.

"Ugh" Karen threw her hands up in the air "will you stop doing that, what will it take to get rid of you"

"I'll stop popping up like that if you tell me what to call you when we're out of uniform" Justin said "come on I told you my name"

"good for you" Sorceress said, jumping up and catching the ladder rung of the fire escape. She began climbing and looked down at Luna, "Stay out of sight girl; I'll bring you to Jacks once I reach him. Alright"

Luna snorted in an almost human like fashion and sat in an alcove, out of sight and well hidden in shadows.

"good girl" Sorceress sent her a grateful thought and received a wag of Luna's tail in response.

"oh no you are not getting rid of me" Justin said "Bats said stick to you, so I'm sticking"

"well go tell Batman that he's an idiot" Sorceress called down.

"I suppose I could just call you Sorceress and let all of the eavesdroppers and gossipers know you're a super" Justin said in mock dismay.

Sorceress froze and twisted to look down at the man following her up the ladder.

"You wouldn't dare" she whispered

"not if you tell me your name" Justin said and Sorceress sighed. It wasn't as though she had much of a choice, nor was there any point; he knew what she looked like without the hood or face cover. Looking back down at him she glared her infamous death stare.

"It Karen, jackass" she said and she kept climbing

**Sorry about the short chapter guys, it was more of a filler chapter than anything else. Please R/R**


	5. Chapter 5

Karen looked out at the roof tops and skyscrapers of Metropolis, the sun glittering off the buildings.

"this city is way too clean" she muttered and Justin laughed

"it's better than Gotham" he said with a grin.

"Depends on your point of view" Karen stubbornly and she turned to him and crossed her arms "so how exactly are you going to get me close enough to Torment without him sensing me. Batman said you could dampen my powers, I didn't ask at the time because what I really wanted to do was get off that damn station, but I'm asking now"

"it's a long story" he said

"I've got time" Karen said "talk and walk though"

And with that she ran across the roof and summoned a staff of pure magic. Using that she launched herself to the other roof. Justin appeared next to her in a blend of shadow.

"my power come from nanite technology. It was an invention of my fathers, it started as a sort of cure all, cellular repair, cancer, fatal wounds. But the CIA found my dad out and wanted to take it a step further, they wanted to use it for espionage, to make their spies untraceable, invincible, self healing. My father didn't have much choice, because they made it perfectly that if he didn't he would probably find life difficult. So he started working on it, taking a potential cure for cancer and stripping it down to healing. Then programming the nanites for long range transmission and wireless communication with any kind of satellite camera and scope on the planet and to integrate into the hosts DNA"

"that explains nothing" Karen said as she looked over the edge of the roof, checking the street name

"I'm getting there" Justin said "Patience is a virtue"

"well I never claimed to be a saint" Karen said

"Anyway" Justin said "I am basically living nanite technology. When I was given the nanites the injection also had a master nanite, it embedded itself in my brain, and it reads certain things and stores them while some thoughts it reads as a command. That's why I can teleport from place to place, because I think of that place and poof there I am"

"poof" Karen asked dubiously "no that's not how it really works, mister, as hard as you are to pin point, you go somewhere, or everywhere"

"Catch that did you?" Justin asked in surprise as he followed her to a neighboring building. She pulled off her shoes and tied the laces together and hung them around her neck, and digging her fingers into the mortar grooves Karen began to climb up the building "Damn how in the hell are you doing that"

"Practice" Karen said shortly swinging over to a window ledge and gripping the drain pipe she swung up to the pent house balcony and used the lattice to get to the roof. Looking over the ledge she saw Justin staring at her with his mouth open. "Come on hot shot; don't tell me you can't climb up a wall?"

"Nope" he said and suddenly he was next to her his face inches from her ear "Don't need to" he whispered, Karen pushed him away quickly

"keep doing that and you'll end up with a broken nose" she warned and she jumped over the short gap from one roof to the next. "now you were saying"

"oh . . . right" Justin said and he jumped over to the roof next to her. "When I transport it's not simply appearing or disappearing, I don't even disappear."

"then what do you do and what does this have to do with my powers" Karen said

"I spread thin" Justin said "there is at least one nanite in every atom in my body and when I want to go somewhere my cells split apart and particle by particle I am transported to where I want to go"

"so you are torn apart bit by bit and then put back together on the other side" Karen asked "that sounds painful"

"not really" Justin said "it's more like a pins and needles. Anyway, you've seen how before I completely solidify I'm more of a shadow than a man"

"Man is stretching it a little" Karen said and Justin glanced at her.

"God your abrasive"

"you don't like it you can go" Karen said

"Okay . . .anyway, when I stay like that, I can read all of the information the master nanite is intercepting from the other nanites" Justin said "everything from neurological activity to ene3rgy readings. Most people when I see then like that are in a gray area, but homio mages, people like Zatanna, you, Dr. Fate, you guys are like New York Christmas trees."

"and we have reached to point of the story after" Karen pretended to count on her hands "ten blocks"

"it was three" Justin corrected serenely and suddenly he was next her, though not completely there, his features were blurred, shadowy. He held out his hand "here I'll show you"

Karen looked at his hand then looked at him. should she trust him? should she trust that he was the hero he seemed, not the child he acted like?

Tentatively she took his hand and he pulled her close to his side. He felt solid enough, and warm. Or maybe that was just her.

"homio mages have this anomaly" he explained his eyes smiling down at her "they can integrate their energy with objects, sometimes people if they are powerful enough. Your energy reaches out to my nanites and you are able to share the shadow technology. A normal person would have passed right through me, like a ghost. I can transport a normal person but only if I'm touching them while I'm still solid."

"So this will keep me from being sensed by Torment" Karen asked trying hard to ignore how close his face was to hers.

"it should, Dr. Fate and Zatanna both tried it with me when they found out that I could do it, neither of them could tell that the other was a homio mage if they hadn't known before the test" he said Karen's brow furrowed as she thought. Hmm maybe Batman really does know what he's doing. "you know you are very easy to get along with when you're not biting my head off"

"get some new material" Karen said, stepping away from him. he solidified again and shook his head.

"sorry it's all I got" Justin said with a grin "can't help it"

"use your imagination" Karen said and she hooked her feet on the railing of the roof top and let herself fall backward. She unhooked her feet quickly before her head hit the wall and tucked her legs in tight and cannonballed for a few feet then in a power kick she launched off the side of the wall and flew over the busy main street below, landing on the other side in a loose somersault and bounced to her feet.

"you know" Justin said munching on an apple as he leaned up against the roof top door "the file Batman showed me said you could fly why don't you"

"because, flying takes a lot of magical energy" Karen said "I only do it if I'm angry or if I have enough adrenalin, or if the situation calls for it. Besides, this is better than any gym work out or sparring match"

"Fair enough" Justin said "one more question" Karen snorted a laugh

"one?" Karen said "yeah right"

"what's with the foot fetish" he asked "I have seen you wear shoes for only about a half hour and then you take them off as soon as you can"

"not sure" Karen grunted as she jumped over to another fire escape. "I think it has something to do with the way I do magic"

"oh?"

"I'm a more hands on type of magician" Karen explained "I can feel, see, and in a way taste magic. I don't really need symbols or talismans, unless I have something that blocks me. I think the reason I can't stand shoes is because it is another barrier for me to go through to feel the magic in my surroundings"

"hmm" Justin said as he appeared next to her. He looked around "So when are we going to be where ever you are leading me"

"Soon" Karen said "I have a contact here, he can help us get a temporary place where no one is going to ask questions. We need a base of operations and he knows how to work the underground here"

"good plan" Justin said

"I thought so too" she said and she looked around then she pointed to jack's apartment building "See that building over there, that's where we need to be"

"Hold on then" Justin said and suddenly he scooped her up and there was a tingling feeling in her nose.

And the world was awash in gray and black and the world was whooshing along in an impossible speed. Gray humanoid shapes rushed through her, buildings were only mist; nothing was substantial except Justin's arms that held her to his chest. He features were blurred but she could tell he was laughing, smiling enjoying the rushing feeling. His brown eyes danced with the mischief and delight of a child.

And then it was over

Karen was hit from all sides with the auras and emotions of every living thing for blocks, sending her to her knees with a cry as the feelings beat at her mind, the colors blinded her and the magic engulfed her.

"Karen?" Justin's voice sounded far off and his aura fluttered with a blue worry before it settled to its chameleon like state. She felt his hand on her shoulder and then, alarmingly, his thoughts pushed at her mind along with his emotions and she pushed him away quickly

"Don't touch me" she snarled as she tried to get her shields up again. The shadow ride had been a balm a relief and she had unconsciously let down shields that she maintained to keep from being overwhelmed by her magical senses.

But his thoughts, how was it possible that she could read Justin's thoughts when he touched her.

Karen inhaled deeply as her last shield fell into place and the auras were filtered to what she wanted to feel and not what was in her range. The feelings dimmed to those in the building under her. She covered her face with a shaking hand and took another deep breath to get her bearings and stood up.

"Karen" Justin asked "are you alright?"

"Now I am" she said and she fixed him with a glare "I said stop surprising me."

"I'm sorry" Justin started but she waved his apology away.

"you didn't know, and I should have known better" Karen muttered "let's get to my contact so I can send for Luna"

Justin nodded but he said nothing. And Karen led the way down the roof top stairs.

She felt Jack now and she wanted to run the rest of the way, but she didn't quite feel up to it yet and besides, she had no intention of answering Justin's unending questions.

Three floors and ten doors later Karen was knocking on Jacks apartment door. There was a lot of rummaging and bumps inside before the door was opened and a blue eyed, dark haired little girl poked her head out.

"Boo" Karen said to her goddaughter

"Karen" Jane squealed and the little six year old threw the door open and barreled into her, her arms wrapped tightly around the woman. Karen laughed and picked her up and spun her around.

"Look at you" Karen exclaimed "good grief Janey, every time I come over here you grow another foot before my eyes"

"I missed you so much" Jane said "Nicks been a stupid head, he ate my best crayons"

"well he's a boy, love" Karen said and Jane looked over at Justin

"who's he?" she asked, her eyes narrowed

"another stupidhead" Justin said with a grin "a stupid head with a sucker for a pretty girl"

Jane squealed with delight as Justin produced a sucker from behind his back and Karen glared at him.

"What's going on out here" Jacks voice made Karen look up and smiled at her old partner.

The former Gotham cop held his son on his shoulders and was staring at her with his mouth open.

"Careful Jack a fly might go down your throat" Karen said and he snapped his mouth shut and smiled.

"Didn't expect you till thanksgiving" he said and he motioned her to come inside. He looked Justin up and down with a narrowed eye. "Who's this?"

"Karen's stupid head" Jane answered for her and Karen burst out laughing and kissed Janey on the cheek.

"Justin Carter" Justin said holding out his hand with a grin

"Jack" jack shook his hand and he looked at Karen "boyfriend?" he asked skeptically

Karen made a puking noise and Jane wrinkled her nose while nick laughed and pulled at his father's hair, while Justin only grinned and gave Karen a sly wink

"Jack what's all the fuss about" Helen came around the corner then and saw Karen. she gasped and rushed forward and hugged her tightly

"Mama, your squeezing to hard" Jane complained

"oops" Helen said, and she let go of Karen and ruffled her daughter's hair "sorry dear"

"that's okay, I squeezed her hard too" Jane said serenely

Helen laughed and took Jane from Karen and set her on her feet while Jack did the same with Nick

"go and teach Nick how to play with the new legos, alright love" Helen said "and make sure he doesn't eat any"

"alright mama, but only if Karen does the magic" Jane said looking imploringly up at Karen with her huge blue eyes. "Please, with chocolate covered cherries on top"

Karen smiled and knelt next to the little girl.

"now what kind of fairy godmother would I be if you didn't see a bit of magic" Karen asked, she knew she would never be able to say no to those big blue eyes when they asked something of her. The glowing smile that lit Jane's face had her heart melting and she turned her around and pushed her toward Nick "but you have to take care of Nicky first, and what kind of boy would he be if he didn't learn to play with legos?"

"a really stupid one" Jane said with a sigh "okay, Nicky, let's go build a skyscraper" and the little six year old picked up her little brother with a grunt and waddled off with him to their room. Karen stood and with a flick of her wrist closed the door behind her.

"you're too good to them Karen" Helen said and Karen laughed

"would you rather I be horrible?" she asked "besides those big blue eyes she got from you are unfair"

Jack laughed and put an arm around his wife's waist

"I told you" Jack said to her "No one can say no to eyes like those" Helen rolled her eyes at her husband

"you only say that because you want me to cook you some dinner tonight" Helen said

"hmm yea and some desert after" Jack said with a grin and Helen hit his chest.

"there are children in the other room" Helen said "honestly you can take the man out of Gotham but you can't take Gotham out of the man"

"Too true" Karen agreed "Now if you don't mind, may I bring Luna in?"

"where did you leave her this time?" Jack asked with a grin and Karen blushed

"hey I didn't know that kid was going to run down the alley" she muttered and she held out her hand and gestured to where she wanted Luna to be transported.

There was a shimmer and suddenly Luna stood in the living room and shook herself.

Justin made a grunting noise behind her and Karen glanced at him, his face wore a surprised expression and an incredulous one as well. but she paid him no thought as Luna trotted over to Jack and Helen and nudged them in greeting them putting her nose to the ground she sniffed out the children.

"Go on you big softie" Karen said "your pups are waiting" Luna gave her a look that said she didn't care what Karen thought about her maternal instincts, she was going to keep mothering them until they could take care of themselves.

There were squeals of delight and the sound of many legos being scattered before Karen closed the door for a second time.

"We weren't expecting you until holidays" Helen said

"I know things have . . . changed" Karen muttered, sitting at the dining room table.

"so I'm guessing you don't come to chat?" Jack said

"no, Jack" Karen said "I need your help. Do you still keep your hand in the underground?"

Helen looked at her husband sharply but Jack only sighed and nodded

"yeah, what do you need" Jack asked

"a place to stay that won't ask questions" Karen said "I can get money but a new identity will take time we don't have"

"Something's come up hasn't it" Jack narrowed his eyes and glared at her as if he was trying to read he3r soul "something bigger than your letting on, or you would take the time to make a new identity, it's not some warlord or smuggler, or arms dealer this time is it?"

Karen's hands tightened and she ran her thumb over the scars again. Jack wouldn't like it, he had seen the after math of Torment's work on her body, he had seen her risk life and limb to take him down and how it drove her crazy that he still wandered and Jack only wished for her to put it to bed, to move on.

But she couldn't, it was now a more personal case than just hunting down a psychopath with a thirst for magic. It was becoming this never ending game of cat and mouse. She would hunt him until she could hunt no more, he would hide then resurface then hide again.

Only this time he wasn't hiding anymore, he wasn't even running, he was planning, plotting and scheming to do . . . something, what it was Karen had to find out. It wasn't about just magic now.

"It's him Jack" Karen said quietly "it Torment" and there was a shattering sound as Jack's mug broke in his hand.

"Jack" Helen exclaimed jumping up to clean up the mess.

"Are you insane Karen?" he snarled

"I don't think so" Karen said, pretending to think about it.

"Don't joke" Jack growled "I moved from Gotham to get away from jokes. Karen why can't you let this case go? He's going to kill you someday, for real this time."

"You know exactly why I can't let it go" Karen said darkly

"Yeah because you are an obsessive dumbass who pokes her nose into the wrong places" Jack shouted

"He's planning something big Jack, I need to stop him" Karen didn't know they were both on their feet until she heard the chair behind her clatter to the floor. "he murdered hundreds, Jack, of women and children and men, just for power, and they had no idea why."

"Don't do this to yourself Karen" Jack said "I saw what he did the first time, if he captures you again"

"he won't I'm better prepared this time" Karen said "I can control my magic now"

"and what's going to happen if he senses you?" jack asked

"That's what this idiot is for" Karen said gesturing to Justin "he can cloak me, if it's done right, Torment won't even know I'm there"

"Karen" Jack was starting again. But Helen came to Karen's rescue.

"jack enough" she said "Karen can take care of herself"

"But"

"Leave it" Helen said but she fixed Karen with a steely glare "besides, she wouldn't dare leave our children without a godmother"

"you have my word" Karen said "now about that place"


	6. Chapter 6

Karen rolled her eyes as Justin collapsed on one of the motel beds, the creak of his weight hitting the mattress made her want to claw at her ears. Instead she turned to Jack and smiled, not allowing her irritation to show.

"Thanks Jack "this is perfect"

"Perfect huh?" Jack said skeptically arching his eyebrow at her, then glanced at the water stained walls and the TV with a cracked screen and the hole in the door.

"Its not as though I'm going to live here" she said and she leaned closer as tenants passed "besides I think I can handle any trouble that comes our way"

"I know" Jack said "but still" his one green eye still roving over the room and then back to her.

"Come on Jack, this place is better than a lot of the uptown hotels in Gotham" Karen said with a grin. "And besides, this is where he's going to go hunting, the shady nightclubs and bars are the places he's going to look for new magic"

"Well get some rest, Kare" Jack said "even with that clown in the next bed, you'll need it"

Karen grinned a

"Sure I'll do that" she said "now get home to your wife, make another godchild for me why don't you"

"Hey now, that's private, missy" Jack said and he grinned "pick up on that did you"

"It's me Jack" Karen said and pushed him out the door "now go, or your buildings going to burn down"

Jack laughed and she closed the door behind him.

"What was that about" Justin asked suddenly behind her as she turned.

"Nothing you need to know about" Karen snapped "and stop sneaking up on me"

"Why it's fun" he said stepping closer, too close for comfort. She pushed past him and unpacked the clothes that Helen had bought her earlier that day. Justin watched her for a moment and she tried not to notice his stare. Waving her hand she sent the clothes flying to the closet behind the door and she rummaged through the bag for her toothbrush and sent them to the bathroom too.

"That is too . . ."

"What" Karen felt herself bridle in defensiveness, a defensiveness she hadn't felt in a long time since she had first left Gotham. She had for the last year come to accept that her magic was not just a part of who she was but it was her and she was it. To have it made fun of by some joker with a handsome if scarred up face made her blood boil.

"Too cool" Justin said as he watched her clothes fly into the closet. "If I could make my stuff do that, I would never do a day of cleaning for the rest of my life." Karen relaxed at his words and with a wave of her hand summoned the now careworn book of ancient Celtic spells and histories that Nelson had given her and sitting on the bed she opened it and started rereading the book, though she could have bet money that she had it memorized and could recite it word for word.

"So what are we doing now" Justin asked flopping back onto his bed and staring at the ceiling.

"Waiting for night fall" Karen said "Torment isn't much of a day person. He hunts at night"

"Hunts for what" Justin asked

"Fresh magic" Karen replied "he sucks the magic out people to stay immortal or in this case if he needs a lot of power for something." She ran her thumb along the scars again.

"Are there a lot of magicians then?"

"No" Karen said "not really, but there are a lot of people . . . infected with magic, they can't use it but it hides in them. Those are the kind of people that have been disappearing lately. And people with magic have a tendency to live dangerously."

"That's why you told Jack that the underground night clubs would be where he would hunt"

"Exactly"

"What about your wolf" Justin asked "are you going to get her."

Karen had left Luna at Jack and Helen's apartment watching over Nick and Jane, promising to return and retrieve her once she and Justin had verified that Torment was hunting in the Metropolis underground. Though Luna had not seemed too bothered, once the young children and snuggled against her side, sound asleep for their mid day nap and Helen had fed her a raw hide bone. Karen kept her smile suppressed as she remembered the sight of the two kids curled up against the huge wolf, making them seem even smaller than usual.

"Later, once we know he's going to be here" Karen said "then I'll bring her along. But right now she's perfectly happy watching over her pups"

"So I guess it's just you and me then" he said with a sly grin.

"Keep it in your pants cowboy" Karen said with a roll of her eyes. "We have a job to do"

"Not until sunset" Justin said "Come on do you really want to stay inside for the rest of the day reading a book, let's go explore get the lay of the city, sight see, maybe, heaven forbid have fun"

"No" Karen said and Justin chuckled

"Don't make me force you" he said wiggling his fingers at her,

"try it and I will throw you through a wall, there's four of them to pick from" Karen said but as the minutes passed she found herself reading the exact same sentence and thinking about maybe. . .just maybe relaxing for a little bit.

Finally Karen sighed and closed the book with a snap.

"Fine" she said "but we are going to need to stop at a bank. I have couple accounts under a couple aliases. I was going to use an ATM at but since you want to go shopping, we might as well get you some actual clothes that don't make you look like some private dick from the forties"

Justin glanced down at his clothes, his button up shirt slightly rumpled.

"It's all Jack had that would fit" Justin said defensively.

"I know" Karen said "Come on, there's a branch of Metropolis bank not far from here"

A half hour later Karen was standing at an ATM staring at it's out of order sign.

"God damn it, I was hoping to avoid this" Karen mutter.

"What"

"Interaction" Karen growled and she quietly conjured her identification in her coat pocket. Pushing open the door she stepped into the shortest line for a teller and with an impatient tapping of her toes that had several people around her looking at her in annoyance but she didn't care. She just wanted to get her money and get out of here.

Justin sidestepped in behind her, brushing a hand along her arm.

"You are really tense" Justin observed quietly in her ear. She huffed out a breath.

"I don't like crowds" she muttered back. She though he smiled in the corner of her eye and her tapping got louder.

After a couple seconds she felt Justin put his hand on her shoulder and she froze in surprise her tapping ceasing.

"Relax" he whispered in her ear, his warm breath tickling her skin. He rested the other hand on her other shoulder, she nearly shrugged it off except that it didn't feel patronizing or controlling. It was comfortable, even . . . welcome. She felt her muscles loosen up and she relaxed back into his chest.

"See, not that hard is it" Justin's whisper made her want to turn around and smack him upside the head, but at that moment a shout echoed in the bank.

"Nobody move!" a deep voice cried and screams made Karen and Justin wheel around to witness five men armed to the teeth with assault rifles and machine guns, in all black with ski masks.

"Everybody on the ground" one said pointing a gun at the teller closest to the door. "You, start loading money on the counters. All of you do it" gunshots split the air as one of the gunmen shot out the cameras

Karen took a step forward but Justin held her back.

"Let go" she whispered

"Not yet" he said "this is Superman's turf"

"He's not here, and do you see Lois Lane anywhere" Karen hissed

"Then we need to bide our time, wait until they're too busy trying to get the money to notice us" Justin's voice dropped and she watched his eyes rove over the lay out. She watched as a strategic gleam sparked in his eyes, he was all business now.

"Fine"

"Keep that temper of yours under control" Justin warned "and be ready, I'm going to transport us, just long enough to change."

Karen nodded.

"Stop talking" one man screamed sweeping his gun around to them. Karen and Justin put their hands up knelt on the ground. "Lay on the floor, now"

They did as directed as the others with the exception of the man at the counter began issuing the same orders.

Karen could literally taste the auras around so augmented by fear that she had to push it away, though she would pay for it later. One woman was trying desperately to soothe her screaming child while one man screamed over the kid for the woman to shut her brat up. Karen inched over and gently pulled the child down to sit on the floor next to her.

Slowly Karen wove a presence of peace and clam around the child and his screams faded and he buried his head in his mother's breast as she sank to her knees next to him.

It was several minutes before Justin's hand touched hers gently and she tightly locked her shields in place as they faded away.

Outside the bank in an alley, Karen snapped her fingers and donned her uniform as Justin disappeared in swirl of darkness and reemerged with his own costume on. They touched hands again and reappeared in the bank.

No one noticed their absence, nor did anyone notice their reappearance as Sorceress and Shadowalker until the former spoke.

"Now look at what we have here" Sorceress said "children caught with the cookies"

All five men trained their guns on them, their eyes wide behind the masks.

"Children?" Shadowalker asked "more like idiots, I mean who robs a bank in a city with a man that has super hearing?"

"Good question" Sorceress said "let's ask"

A gun man fired in a panic. Everyone screamed as the bullet rushed right at Sorceress's chest.

Holding up a hand the bullet stopped a foot from Sorceress and for a moment everything was still and silent as it hovered there, glowing like a fire fly.

"HOLY SHIT" one of the men screamed and chaos erupted.

Shadow walker disappeared as the guns trained on them and Sorceress waved her hand again sending the bullet right back at the original shooter, taking him in the leg. He howled and fell to his knees.

The other four began shooting too, and Sorceress dodged and weaved stopping the bullets and dropping them, dancing among the gunfire as Shadowalker began transporting people out. The sound of tinkling bullets and gunfire played a song in the echoes of the bank and Sorceress danced to it coming closer and closer to the group of robbers. Then Shadowalker was by her side.

Shadowalker had her about the waist and they teleported to the counter where with a wave of Sorceress's hand the money began flying back into the vault.

"You tramp" the man at the counter shouted pulling out a Glock. But Sorceress smacked his gun away and swung up on the counter and kicked him in the chest and used him as a spring board she flipped up and bounced on her feet as the man fell behind her, cracking his head against the cement floor. She rose up as two other robbers ran up to her. One grabbed her around the shoulders and as the other one ran up to hit her she kicked him in the stomach, and threw her head back into the face of the man holding her. There was a sickening crunch as his nose broke and she broke free and opening her hand she summoned her magic and it formed into a staff. The man's mask was soaked in blood and his eyes burned with hatred as he rushed her. She dodged and brought her staff across his back. He stumbled and turned on her again.

Sorceress could hear Shadowalker fighting the other two men, and the gunman who had been shot screaming on the floor. Sorceress dodged another attack from her opponent and with a brutal strike of her staff knocked him across the skull and he crumpled at her feet.

"Hey" a shout made Sorceress turn and she watched coldly as a robber who had been previously unconscious held the little boy she had just calmed. He put the gun to his head. "One more move and I blow the punks brains out"

Sorceress stood and waited for she had felt a flicker in the auras.

Suddenly Shadowalker appeared next to him and before the boy or the man could cry out, Shadowalker had disarmed him and with a solid punch, knocked him unconscious while simultaneously catching the young boy and setting him on his feet. Then Shadow walker appeared beside her and dropped the other three on top of the two she had fought with, the only one still conscious was writhing in pain as the bullet had lodged in his shin. Waiving her hand, Sorceress, conjured a net and wrapped it securely around the criminals.

"Nice Job" Shadowalker murmured

"Not too bad yourself, Now lets' leave" Sorceress said as the sirens of the police cares sounded. "We'll do this later"

Shadow walker took her by the waist and they faded again into the gray world.

They appeared back at the motel room and Sorceress pulled down her face mask, and watched as Justin pulled off his mask. The scars were now fully visible, white streaks across tan skin and they stood so stark it was surreal to see them.

Karen liked them, it made Justin seem more like a warrior, like a man then the boy that twinkled behind his eyes. The scars went across his left cheek down to his chin and across his throat all the way to his collar bone.

"Coffee" Justin said warily "I want coffee. Hot and black"

"Coffee sounds fantastic" Karen said snapping her fingers and her civilian clothes took the place of her uniform. Justin threw his coat onto his bed and pulled off his T-shirt. Karen swallowed the gasp that rose in her throat.

His bare torso would have been any woman's fantasy, but that was not what made Karen breathless. His entire back and torso was covered in the same slash marks that scarred his face.

"Justin" Karen whispered grabbing his arm. He stopped and looked at her in confusion. "What . . . what happened? How did . . . "she trailed off when he looked at her with a sad sort of grimace.

There was a silence as he started the coffee and he sat on his bed she watched him in silence, waiting for the story she sensed was coming.

"I told you that I was injected with my father's experimental nanite project" he said rubbing his hands together "well it wasn't a conscious decision."

"He experimented on you" Karen asked horrified.

"No" Justin said quickly "no he didn't. He never wanted me anywhere near the project. But it was just me and him; he didn't have much choice but to keep me close.

"See when I was younger before the nanites; I was a bit of a wiz kid. When I was five I built a tracking system out of my dad's broken PC. And when I was twelve was at nearly a college level in every subject my father could think to teach me. I was nine when my dad started the nanite project, ten when the government approached him. We were traveling all over the world, searching for new ways to apply the technologies, for new aspects of research new developments in nanite technologies. But sometimes we were just hiding"

"From what"

"You kidding? A weapon that has the potential to allow a spy to be virtually undetectable, untraceable, invincible, and self healing. That's like Harry Potter telling everyone that he had the Elder Wand. Everyone would want it, kill for it. Especially the terrorists. We were hiding in the African rainforest, in a village. My father had more PH.D.'s and Masters than I could count, one of them was in medicine and he exchanged his expertise for protection. One day my dad was helping some of the children who had come down with pneumonia, and I was bored so I decided to go exploring."

"So even then you were insatiably curious" Karen murmured and Justin chuckled

"Yeah I guess" he said "well I was wandering and got lost pretty easy. And even though I was smart I was still a kid and freaked out and stumbled on leopard and her cubs"

"Oh" Karen whispered sitting on her bed, watching him as he trailed a finger along one of his scars on his arm.

"Yeah" Justin said, "I blacked out, but I was told what happened later. A hunting party heard the leopard and scared it away and brought me to my father. I was dying and my father was to say the least was freaking out. For two days he tried to keep me alive, but it wasn't exactly a sanitary environment. The wounds they became infected . . . I was on the verge of dying and my father didn't see much choice. He had completed his programming and had the nanites in a serum that would act as an antibody and be accepted by the internal systems of the body."

"He injected you to save your life" Karen said and Justin nodded.

"It took a while for the nanites to integrate" Justin said "I was out for three days and our enemies caught up to us quick. When I came to my dad was standing over me, asking me all these questions. I answered them but I couldn't think as clearly and after some testing we learned that the master nanite required a lot of brain power to support, lowering the amount that I had usually used for problem solving and cognitive thinking. So instead of being the world's leading engineer I became a scarred average teenager stuck in an African village. After a week my powers began to manifest and it was a bit unexpected the teleportation thing. But that doesn't matter. My dad was afraid that both the government and the enemies of America would capture me and use me for my power, so we hid. And for a few years life was alright. I learned about my powers and how to use them while my dad studied the way the nanites interacted with my body. Then after a year, they caught up o us, unfortunately it wasn't the CIA, it was some terrorist group, I never found out whom, point is they were willing to kill to get me. They massacred the small mountain village we ended up in, then my dad. . . . "Justin trailed off, his face an expressionless mask as he stared at his feet, but Karen saw his knuckles whiten. "He told me to run, to use my power to get as far away as I could. I did but I looked back and watched as he doused our house and his lab in kerosene."

"He killed himself to protect you" Karen whispered there was a silence and Karen sighed and stood and went over to him, kneeling down she touched his hands and she saw the unshed tears as he looked at her. "And you blame yourself"

"Wouldn't you?" he asked. Karen closed her eyes and breathed out a breath.

"Everyday" she said

Karen touched the scar on his arm and ran her finger down it.

"I can get rid of these if you want" she said quietly "I know a spell that could erase them"

He was silent as she traced another one on his bicep calculating the amount of power it would take to do it, while abstractedly thinking that she rather enjoyed looking at his muscles. Karen knew she was going to have to do the spell at Jacks. She had put spells of protection in place years ago both to give her some where to go where she could not be found magically, and to protect her family. She could do the spell without anyone, namely Torment, if he was here, finding her.

"No" Justin's voice broke through her thoughts and he put a hand over hers.

Karen looked up at him and found him smiling at her.

"They are a reminder" he said quietly "a reminder of what my father was willing to do for me, of what I fight for. Of what I need to protect" something in his eyes made a lump rise in Karen's throat and she swallowed.

"I understand" Karen said

"But thank you for the offer" Justin said "and thank you for listening" he smiled and before she could do anything he kissed her cheek and stood.

"Hey" Karen said in surprise and he winked at her "do that again and I'll give you more scars"

"You can try dragon lady" Justin said the boyish glint returning to his eyes. He went to the bathroom door and stopped "I'm taking a shower"

"Make sure it's cold" Karen muttered pouring herself a cup of coffee. There was a silence.

"Hey Karen" Justin's voice had turned serious again and she turned to look at him. "You're the first person to get it. To not tell me that I was being stupid to feel the way I did. So . . . thanks again"

"Go take your shower" Karen muttered "you smell like the Gotham canals"

Justin chuckled and closed the door behind him.

Karen turned back to the window and after a few moments she smiled and touched her cheek.

Realizing that she was replaying the moment she shook her head.

Focus you dumbass Karen thought to herself he's a flirt, it doesn't mean anything besides you have a mission to complete, get your head out of the clouds and back on the ground.

But she couldn't help but touch her cheek again and think about his story, his courage, and his good heart.

And she couldn't help but hope.


End file.
